Do you get really irritated when your kids BREAK THINGS??
By mommyboo
@mommyboo (13174)
United States
April 8, 2012 8:33pm CST
My daughter is almost eight and a half and has developed this irritating habit of BREAKING things, sometimes shortly after she gets them! Apparently she dropped a little glass butterfly she got in her easter basket and she just came in here whimpering about it.
I'm sorry that I can't be sympathetic but it's not like this NEVER happens. In fact, she has been doing things like this more often lately than she EVEN DID WHEN SHE WAS A toddler!! When I was her age, I did not BREAK STUFF all the time, not even on accident!
I got mad and I told her that she needs to pay attention to things that are breakable. If something is GLASS or ceramic or simply something that isn't made well or needs to be handled carefully, then handle it carefully! Dropping things or allowing them to fall, even on carpet may result in it getting broken! I don't know what else to do than say that. Being sorry and crying about it does no good, and I am hardly going to replace it because then how will she learn how to take care of things?!
What do you think about this? What do you do when your kids break stuff over and over without seeming to LEARN from it??
1 person likes this
14 responses
@asliah (11137)
• Philippines
30 Jul 12
hi,
i have a nephew and one time he dropped my glass with milk so the glass broke,but i never get angry to him instead i just smile and said i was shock so that my nephew never afraid to me,and aside from that he would know now to hold more tight the glass to avoid dropping of it.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
12 Apr 12
To a certain extent I do have to say that it does irritate me when the kids break things. However, I have to say that I get a lot more irritated when they break things that belong to me as opposed to things that belong to them.
When it is their things, it is their responsibilty to take care of them and if they get broken there is really nothing that I can do about it. However, when it is my things that get broken, I get a lot more irritated because I do take care of those things that belong to me.
@dandan07 (1906)
• China
10 Apr 12
When I was a child, my mother would beat me when I broke something. It was really a hurt feeling for in most case I broke thing did not on purpose.
To many children, they are happy with their own things or own games. At that time, they will not pay attention to other things around them. As they can not image what will happen for their actions, so they do that. So things may be broken by their actions, but they do not know that could happen before they did that.
It is not right to beat children or angry with their behavior. If you really do not want something important broken. Keep them away from children's touch is ok enough.
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
10 Apr 12
Yes i did get upset about all the breaks from my kids..now that i have grand kids its now watching for the toilet to overflow..haha
@IntrovertShy (2780)
• Marikina, Philippines
11 Apr 12
It depends on the parents, because even parents have different personality towards their children. She is just a kid and maybe telling her not to do it again in a nice way is better, but again, it depends on the parents… I guess. Maybe she will remember those words and never do it again.
Well, if I have kids even though I do not have kids at all, ha ha 
I would hug her and tell her not to do it again. I will tell her that she should be careful next time. I am just being ‘idealistic’, but I guess, in a real life situation, I would also get mad for what my kids did to a glass.
I would hug her and tell her not to do it again. I will tell her that she should be careful next time. I am just being ‘idealistic’, but I guess, in a real life situation, I would also get mad for what my kids did to a glass.
@bhonti (1246)
• Philippines
10 Apr 12
I think its normal for kids to be breaking things. We have been there at some point in our childhood days. Do not be so hard on her. If you think she's doing it on purpose sometimes, she might have some issues or reasons that you don't know of. For all you know, she might be doing it to catch your attention. Talk to her heart to heart if you have time, and you might find the solution to her problem.
@MoonGypsy (4606)
• United States
9 Apr 12
lol. my daughter is at the same age and is doing some of the same things. i know it seems as though they can't be around anything that doesn't break. i guess we are at the clumsy stage when it comes to our daughters. i guess we need to not place so much responsibility on them. we want to give them nice things and all cause they are girls. they are also at the age where they seem like they can handle stuff. it's tricky though, cause they can't. not yet. they can't learn from it. they just have to outgrow it. they motor skills and maturity will even be better. soon we will see them not breaking things as much. just hold out a bit longer, and level down on the responsibility. at least, that's what i am gonna do.
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
9 Apr 12
Ah. that sounds like my kid when it comes to her glasses. She's been through about 6 pairs already because she won't keep them on her face and puts them in places where they can get sat or stepped on or bent up. Its frustrating because they aren't free and even with insurance, its still a pain. Finally I've decided to just get her some that she only needs to wear for reading since her eye doctor said it'd be okay.
@marguicha (223097)
• Chile
9 Apr 12
Probably the answer is to try to check up if she is doing it on purpose or not. If she is being clumsy without meaning to, maybe she has a problem. And, to begin with, I´d stop giving her glass things. There are lots of nice things made of more sturdy materials. I can understand your daughter because I have always been clumsy
It´s called fine motricitry.
It´s called fine motricitry. 
@Cherish14 (2693)
• Philippines
9 Apr 12
hi there,
i have a nephew he is only 3 years old, turning 4 this May. He breaks some things but i know he doesn't do it on purpose, he is only just a kid. i get mad but i never get really mad, i just tell him not to ever do it again and if he cries when i get mad at him, i just hug him and tell him I love him. he has broken a lot of things already, my camera, his moms camera, the wii, guitar hero, and many more but it is already done, we just tell him not to break things again.
he is only 3 but he is becoming mature already, he learns so much already and is now being careful with the things he uses. it is always better to just talk to them rather than get mad at them. unlike my other nephew, they get mad at him all the time and curses a lot at their house, so now, my other nephew's attitude is even getting worse and also curses a lot too.
i think at the age of 8 she can understand things better already. tell her not to do it again. but if she still does it and can;t control it, try telling her to just not touch anything first so she can avoid breaking them.
@ARIES1973 (11426)
• Legaspi, Philippines
9 Apr 12
I have two children and I never experience things like that. But I have an office mate who is so clumsy that I don't know why she breaks almost anything that she touches. If this is some kind of disorder maybe you should confide it to a doctor. For the meantime, you could let her use unbreakable items and keep the things that might be broken inside the house beyond her reach.
@toxic_lifestyle (1213)
• Philippines
10 Apr 12
I don't have kids but I hate kids who break things. But I know that it's normal for kids to break things because of their ages. They simply adventurous enough to explore and play on things without any thinking the consequences rely upon it.
@rewardsinlife (1132)
• United States
9 Apr 12
All right I am going to go on the advocacy side of the child on this post. Being someone who has recently encountered a disability, I have become more aware of the body and what it is able to do and not do. Just out of curiosity, have you ever seen her drop something? It just may be that something is going wrong medically, not on purpose. Try an experiment, put something, not breakable into your daughters hand and tell her to play and do whatever with it in her hand. See how she ends up dropping it. Does it slip out of her hand? Do her fingers suddenly go limp? Does she simply forget she has it and it drops as she reaches for something else?
If you don't think it is medical, remember that kids do go through clumsy fazes. This usually happens when they start or are about ready to grow because their body has not accustomed itself to the new growth. Just limit the amount of breakable things she comes into contact with until the faze is gone.
